FOOTBALL

USC Notes: Is It The System Or The Players?

I remain fascinated by what Alex Grinch does on defense. Or rather, what the players don’t do? Is the defense’s shortcomings his doing?

“I watched the Arizona game and his defense is a hodgepodge,” a Pac-12 coach said. “It’s just a bunch of guys running around. They don’t look like they know what they are doing.”

  • South Bend weather forecast Saturday: High of 55 degrees. Low of 46 with 70 percent chance of rain.
  • Here’s the Pac-12 preseason all-conference basketball team:
  • After years of Mike Bohn hiring people from Cincinnati, Jen Cohen’s first two hires are from Washington.

She hired Jason Cappadoro as Deputy Athletic Director, Chief Operating Officer and Jay Hilbrands as Deputy Athletic Director for External and Chief of Staff. Interestingly, Hilbrands will also serve as the athletic dept. chief spokesperson. Does this mean he is the new Tim Tessalone?

Cohen also promoted interim athletic director Denise Kwok to Deputy Athletic Director for Internal Operations and Senior Woman Administrator. This should help Kwok’s chances of one day becoming an athletic director, if she desires.

  • USC women’s basketball was picked sixth in the Pac-12 media and coaches’ preseason polls.

51 thoughts on “USC Notes: Is It The System Or The Players?”

  1. “The System or the players?”– Both
    ‘Neon’ in his time didn’t care about what System he was playing
    He would simply ‘murder’ the wideouts

    Like

    Reply

      2. All the old Charlie Bucketisms on display once again. Tell us all about your team the Bruins, Charlie Bucket!

        Like

      4. These fools are all old and senile…..you have two trolls that have their nose up Gabby’s ass 24/7… So Cal is the dumbest dude I have ever encountered on this blog. The guy was gone 69 straight posts mentioning or directed at Gabby…..normal people don’t obsess like that.

        Like

      5. We have Charlie Bucket, a UCLA Fan, running SC alums off the board and telling us what is wrong with our team.

        Like

      6. Charlie hater
        OCTOBER 10, 2023 AT 3:01 PM
        The previous article was about unwanted comparisons. I am seeing trademark Charlie Bucket posts. The worm is not using that moniker but he can’t resist his booom crotch kick, and constantly calling people liars, morons and names to numerous to list.
        Charlie congratulations on being released from jail after saying the umpa lumpa deserved his untimely death. Of course he fell into the cocoa grinder because he went up instead of down on the umpa song. If you were sane you would have known the bars holding you in were just chocolate. Crawl back in your hole worm.

        Like

      7. Yeah, writes “directed at Gabby” as if the entire blog doesn’t know SHE’S Gabby.

        The Village Idiot earning her title daily.

        Like

      8. And also, her commenting on what “normal people do”! LMAO

        As if SHE’S normal!! Doing the stuff she’s done?!! People may have asked me to tone down the politics (which I’ve actually done), but several people have suggested she seek psychiatric help!! She is in some serious denial.

        Like

      9. slo pa-troll, you know what stalking and obsessed looks like- 74 consecutive posts mentioning or directed at Gabby.

        Obsess: preoccupy or fill the mind of (someone) continually, intrusively, and to a troubling extent.

        Stalk: 1. pursue or approach stealthily. 2. harass or persecute (someone) with unwanted and obsessive attention.

        Take your own advice, you sound like a hypocrite; “but several people have suggested So Cal seek psychiatric help!! He is in some serious denial.”

        THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS, THE BLOG FREAK!

        Like

      10. Where did I say anything about the playing surface at ND, you senile asswipe!

        PT: “Cleats for online”

        spell check YOUR diarrhea of the fingers, OLD MAN. Mine was perfect

        PS…..the word is diarrhea, not diaherra…….Mr holy-roller

        Like

    1. I had a friend who was married to a high school football coach in Georgia. He took a small school team to the state championship. His teaching technique featured him asking players straight up “What’s your job?” You would be surprised at how they didn’t have much of an answer at the beginning of the season and then by the end they each could shout out their assignments. It’s clear that we just don’t have the athletes that can dominate a game defensively. So adding mental errors and being slow to recognize and react is a triple layer to overcome. Also , the special teams are either poorly coached or not coached at all.

      Like

      Reply

      1. The Rah Rahs told us since Lincoln Riley said we didn’t need a special teams coach we should trust his judgement.

        Like

  5. Can you imagine being asked ‘What do you do?,’
    and you answer ‘I am the SC Deputy Athletic Director for Internal Operations’
    Oh, who handles the ‘external Operations?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. You normally cannot change a man’s religion or political leanings
    that were brandished into him by his parents,

    But a ‘sports-allegiance’ is different as evidenced by Okies
    first crying over Wiley’s departure, now throwing parties

    Like

    Reply

  7. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said a thousand times. Grinch’s defense is ten pounds of crap in a five pound bag. He is trying to run every defensive scheme under the sun to show what a bright bulb he is, when in actuality he is showing he is dumber than a box of rocks. I don’t care what kind of talent you have, if the players do not buy into what the coaches are doing then there is no chance of sustained success.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  8. Meanwhile Wiley plots how he can best attack that Irish defense
    figuring he will need at least 40-points to overcome Grinch

    Like

    Reply

  9. SC is lost on defense. Also they do not attack. They let the attack hit them first and be pushed off the ball. nd will just slog it down sc’s throat with 3, 4, 3, 5, yard runs and sc cant stop them. Play a 4-3 and play gap defense. Simple but effective.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Irrelevant,

        As usual, you are an asswipe. You can swap a player for a nickelback on passes, you can rush three players, or bring the heat with a cornerblitz, or lber blitz. You can rush five guys or six guys and cover with the rest. I am talking about a simple basic play that is run between the center and tackle.

        Liked by 3 people

      3. Laugh my ass off at Charlie Bucket, a Bruin lecturing Trojan Fans on football.

        Like

      6. Says the idiot who brought me up above without my having even posted! LMAO

        Here, I was merely replying to someone else. Hardly the obsession, that she has with me.

        Could she get any stupider?! I think not!

        Liked by 1 person

      7. Charlie Bucket originally came on to Scott’s blog full of Jim Healy quotes and good natured ribbing but he slowly degenerated into the malevolent creepy UCLA honk we see today. I bet he and Bruin Rob yuck it up over on Bruin Nation on how they have ruined this blog.

        Like

  11. I would imagine the ‘Fighting Irish’ faithful at the game are curious to see first-hand this ‘Celeb’ guy and what magic he can produce,
    notwithstanding their confidence in a Notre Dame victory

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Riley already thinking about his next coaching move and/or retirement.

    LAT Headline: ‘I don’t want to have regrets.’
    USC’s Lincoln Riley tries to balance family and football
    After the loss of mentors Dave Nichol and Mike Leach, USC coach Lincoln Riley has mulled early retirement and noted NFL coaches have better schedules.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. No one in the NFL is going to hire you as an HC when you can’t even field a competent defense at the collegiate level. Plus, the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL makes 4,5 million per. He would take a substantial cut in pay to bolt to the NFL.

      I laugh when Riley and the NFL are mentioned in the same sentence

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. cowardly gabby aka Scott, is so fucked up between the ears, he thinks the ghost of the infamous Charlie Bucket has returned. The fool ran everyone off his blog now he wants to deflect and imagine Charlie is back …..they don’t come anymore fucked up between the ears…right up there with so cal.

    Let the idiot look foolish.

    Like

    Reply

    1. No one is more messed between the ears than a fool who blames someone else for what she did. You look foolish with just about every post.

      Calls others know-it-alls when the truth is, if she knew so much about football, she wouldn’t just be spouting off like a child on a blog, but coaching.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      3. It’s so fun when Charlie Bucket the Bruin Rah Rah melts down after SoCal gets his goat once again. Tell us about UCLA’s football team, Charlie.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. LMAO! What a life? Says the Village Idiot!

        As I stated, makes a fool of herself in almost every post. That’s why almost everyone on this blog has called her out at one time or another. Pathetic.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Grinch if a genius. He has lulled all the upcoming opponents into thinking they don’t have to anything but just copy the ASU, AZ, and CO offenses and they will win. Now against ND he pulls out the real defense they have been building in secret all year. To top it off, Riley finally opens his playbook and blows away defenses with an offense nobody has ever seen.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. UCLA Honk Charlie Bucket, did you have a stroke or just a nervous breakdown?

        Like

Leave a comment